Rafale Marine lands on INS Vikrant at the first attempt: a first for India’s home-built aircraft carrier

The Indian Navy announced the first landing of a Rafale Marine fighter on INS Vikrant, India’s domestically built aircraft carrier. The aircraft landed successfully at the first attempt on Thursday, October 29. A day later the Navy published the news with video and photos on its official X account.

In the same post the trials under way are described as “the first steps” toward the operational induction of the aircraft into the Indian Navy. It is, in other words, the beginning of the process and not its completion.

From the ramp to the arrestor wires

The difference in carrier design is the key element of the test. The Rafale Marine, the naval version of Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, was developed for carriers with a catapult, such as France’s Charles de Gaulle. Vikrant has no catapult. Its aircraft take off from a ski-jump ramp at the bow and land with the help of arrestor wires on the flight deck.

Before the shipboard landing, the fighter had begun trials ashore. Indian media, citing defence sources, reported on October 22 that the Navy had started tests at the Shore Based Test Facility in Goa, meant to validate the modifications the aircraft needs to operate from the Indian carrier.

What the official photos show

In the Indian Navy’s photographs the Rafale Marine takes off from Vikrant’s ski-jump ramp. In another shot the aircraft sits on the flight deck, with an officer watching from the ship’s tower. In a third, a pilot in a flight suit with a “DASSAULT AVIATION” tag and a “GOA” trials patch bearing the French and Indian flags shakes hands with an Indian Navy officer on the deck.

The post does not say when the trials will end, and the Navy has not declared the fighter ready for routine operations from the ship.

India’s 26 Rafale Marines

India signed a contract with France on April 28, 2025 for 26 Rafale Marines: 22 single-seaters and 4 two-seat trainers, as we reported at the time. Its value is estimated at about 630 billion rupees (63,000 crore).

Indian media report that deliveries are expected by the end of 2028 or early 2029, while some reports speak of completion by 2030. For now Vikrant operates with MiG-29K fighters, and the Rafale Marine modifications are meant to enable its operational use from the ship.